Andorra is a small,
landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern
Pyrenees mountain range
and bordered by Spain and France. With an area of 468 km², it
is the sixth smallest country in Europe and also the largest of the
European microstates.

Andorra consists predominantly of rugged mountains of an average
height of 1,996 metres (6,549 ft) with the highest being
the Coma Pedrosa
at 2,942 metres (9,652 ft). These are dissected by three
narrow valleys in a Y shape that combine into one as the main
stream, the Gran Valira river,
leaves the country for Spain (at Andorra's lowest point of
840 m/2,756 ft). Andorra's surface area is
468 square kilometres (181 sq mi).

Andorra's climate is
similar to that of its neighbours' temperate
climates, but its higher altitude means there is, on average,
more snow in winter, lower humidity, and it is slightly cooler in
summer. There are, on average, 300 days per year of
sunshine.

Landslides and avalanches are the main natural hazards. There
are frequent earthquakes below Richter
magnitude 2. There is no historical record of any damaging
earthquakes in Andorra, but the Andorran government has studied the
possibility of a future one.[2]

Contents

Mountains

All of Andorra is mountainous, and in total, there are 65
mountain peaks.[3]

The highest mountain is Coma Pedrosa, which rises to 2942 m
in the northwest of Andorra near the French and Spanish
borders.

Along the border with France, from west to east, the highest
mountains are Pic de Médécourbe (2914 m), Pic
de Cataperdis (2805 m) and Pic de Tristaina (2878 m), Pic
de Font Blanca (2903 m) in the northwest; Pic de Siguer
(2903 m), Pic de la Serrera (2914 m) and Pic d'Anrodat
(2730 m) in the north; and Pic de Noé (2737 m), Pic de la
Cabaneta (2818 m) and Roc Mélé (2811 m) in the east.

Along the border with Spain, from west to east, the highest
mountains are Pic de Médécourbe (2914 m), Pic
de Coma Pedrosa (2942 m), Port de Cabús (2301 m) and Pic
dels Llacs (2692 m) in the west; Pic Negre (2665 m),
Torre dels Soldats (2761 m), and Pic de la Portelleta
(2905 m) in the south.

In the east, near where the borders of the three countries meet,
lies Pic d’Envalira (2825 m) and Pic dels Pessons
(2865 m). A lake, Estany de l'Estanyó, and a mountain, Pic de
l’Estanyó (2915 m) lie just east of El Serrat and are accessible only by hiking
trail.

Lakes and
rivers

Andorra is drained by a single basin whose main river, the Gran
Valira, exits the country in the south near the Spain–Andorra
road border crossing. There are two main tributaries and six
smaller open basins. These basins gave the name by which the region
was traditionally known, The Valleys (Les Valls).

The Valira del Nord is the northwest tributary, flowing from
near El Serrat through the settlements of Les Salines, Arans, La
Cortinada, Sornàs, Ordino, and
La Massana — where it
meets the Tristaina River — and eventually through Les Escaldes where it
meets the Valira d'Orient forming the Gran Valira.

The Valira d'Orient is the northeast tributary, flowing from
near Grau Roig through
Soldeu, Canillo, Encamp, and Les Escaldes where it meets the
Madriu River and then the Valira del Nord, becoming the Gran
Valira.

There are also several much smaller drainage basins that span
Andorra's borders with France and Spain. The most notable of these
is the Pic de Maià basin whose main river, the Sant Josep, flows
easterly out of the country into France and is a tributary of the
Ariège River.

Andorra has 172 lakes, of which the largest is Estanys de Juclar
(23 hectares)[1]
near Pic de Noé in the north east.

Climate

The climate in Andorra varies greatly with elevation. The
valleys have a climate that is similar to the temperate climate of
Andorra's neighbours, but because of the higher elevation, winters
tend to be more severe, the humidity lower, and summers slightly
cooler. Regions above the Alpine tree line at about 2100–2400 m
have an alpine
climate and alpine tundra. Snow completely covers the
northern valleys for several months. There are, on average, 300
days per year of sunshine. Average daily peak insolation varies from
1150 W/m2 in June to 280 W/m2 in
December.[4][5]

The average annual temperature varies from 11 °C
(52 °F) in Sant Julià de Lòria in the south,
to 8 °C (46 °F) in La Massana in the centre, and to 2 °C
(36 °F) in Arcalis in the north.[5]
The average daily high and low temperatures in Escaldes-Engordany are,
respectively, 28 °C (82 °F) and 15 °C (59 °F)
in July, and 11 °C (52 °F) and −2 °C (28.4 °F)
in January.[4]

Average annual precipitation is 1071.9 mm for the whole
country,[3] but
it varies across the country, increasing with elevation and from
south to north. The driest parish is Sant Julià de Lòria (800 mm
per year) in the south, and the wettest is Canillo (1100 mm per year) in the north.
Annual precipitation can exceed 1220 mm in the highest
mountainous areas. The driest months tend to be January and
February, and the wettest, May, June, and November. During the
summer months, there are very few rainy days, but the rainfall can
be very heavy because it is associated with thunderstorms.[5]

Natural
resources

Deposits of iron ore,
lead, alum, and building stones are among the resources
exploited in Andorra, although the economy depends to a much
greater extent on tourism. Andorra’s mountainous
terrain attracts about 12 million tourists annually, primarily for
skiing and hiking. The largest numbers of visitors come from Spain
and France – 10,743,201 and 3,723,869 visitors, respectively, in
2007.[3] It
is also a popular destination for British tourists, accounting for
one in seven of all British package holidays — more than for
Switzerland, Canada and the US combined.[6]

Natural
hazards

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Avalanches

There is a risk of avalanches from mid winter to early summer.
Avalanche
control methods such as snow clearing by controlled blast
charges, snow nets, snow fences, deflectors, rigid barriers, and
snow compaction are used in Andorra to prevent dangerous
avalanches.[7][8]

1996
Arinsal avalanche

The 1996 Arinsal avalanche was an exceptionally powerful
powder-snow avalanche that followed several days of very heavy
snowfalls and high winds.[9] At
19:00 on 8 February 1996, the avalanche fell on the village of Arinsal destroying or severely
damaging many cars and buildings including three blocks of flats
that were under construction by a Russian company; evacuation of
the residents and tourists in the village had been completed
1½ hours before the avalanche, and consequently no lives were
lost, but the material and economic damages were large.[9][10]
Afterwards, the government ordered the construction of a snow dam
across the Arinsal valley to stop future avalanches. The Arinsal
snow dam, which is 16 m high and 320 m wide, cost
52 million francs and used 115,000 m3
of soil and 11,000 m3 of rock.[7]

1970 Pas de la Casa
avalanche

The 1970 Pas de la Casa avalanche was a powder-snow avalanche
that happened after a severe snowstorm left 2 metres
(7 ft) of new snow atop the existing snow pack on the mountain
slopes above Pas
de la Casa. The avalanche began at an elevation of 2,640 m
(8,700 ft) on the upper slopes of the Pic d'Envalira
(2,825 m/9,270 ft), accelerated down the 35° slope
and spilled over six bends of the old CG-2 road that winds its way
down the mountain to the village of Pas de la Casa, which is at
2,100 m (6,900 ft). It then hit the village, damaging
several buildings including a dispensary and killing a nurse.[10]
In 1970, Pas de la Casa had far fewer buildings than it does now,
so the damage was relatively limited. In later years as development
of the ski resort continued, plans for avalanche control measures
were studied, but it was not until 1985 that strong protective
features including 250 m of windbreaks and 500 m of snow
fences were installed.[10]
The new CG-2 goes through the Envalira Tunnel, thus avoiding Pas de
la Casa and the risk of avalanches.

Landslides

Landslides are a frequent occurrence in Andorra, which have
tended to follow periods of heavy rainfall.[11]

A landslide during the evening rush hour on 25 January 2008
deposited 4000 m3 of loosely bound soil and rocks
from the mountain slope above onto the main road CG-3 (Avinguda del
Través de la Massana) between La Massana and Ordino, blocking it
for three days, as well as completely covering an open-air car park
and several parked cars. The only damage was to property, and
nobody was injured, but the residents of a block of flats adjacent
to the landslide were evacuated as the building was deemed unsafe
and it remains vacant. The cause of the landslide was determined to
be settlement of the earth due to inadequate ground reinforcement
in the construction and excavation of the car park 30 years
previously.[12][13]

On 7 July 2009, a rock landslide fell 200 m onto the CG-3
main road between La Massana and Andorra La Vella, blocking the
road near the entrance to the Pont Pla Tunnel for three hours.
Protective nets on the mountain side caught most of the rockfall,
but 4 m3 went over the nets and fell onto the road
and pavement.[14]

Earthquakes

The Pyrenees and Catalonia have frequent and sometimes
destructive earthquakes — the largest in recorded history being the
Catalan earthquake of 1428
with an estimated magnitude of IX on the MSK scale, equivalent
to 6.0-6.5 on the Richter scale.[15][16]
However, earthquakes whose epicentres are inside Andorra tend to be
smaller than magnitude 2.[16][17]
An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on 5 October 1999 in nearby
Banheras-de-Luishon was widely felt in Andorra, causing public
alarm.[18]
The Andorran Government has studied the possibility of a damaging
earthquake in Andorra.[2]